Simulation study of solar energy conversion for hybrid microgenerator cell

A hybrid solar - PZT microgenerator is designed using an n-doped single crystal p-type <;100> silicon membrane as the solar cell and PZT layer deposited on the backside of the membrane as the mechanical energy harvester. The cell utilized a 40 μm thick membrane with an aluminum fin attached on its surface as the harvester for mechanical energies wind and raindrop. The solar cell has a dimension of 15 mm × 15 mm. Simulation was done using ATLAS software from SILVACO to obtain V_OC, I_SC, maximum power, and other characteristics for the solar cell. V_OC and J_SC of the cell are 0.41V and 1.363 μA/μm respectively. Under AM 1.5 condition, the maximum power density for the cell is 0.01913 W/cm² and the efficiency is 19.13%. Simulation results suggest that the solar cell could be feasibly integrated into the hybrid microgenerator cell.